


Against All Odds

by CeciLovesReading



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Comfort, Heartbreak, Love, M/M, Murder, Pain, Rituals, Treason, cases
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-04-11 12:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4434737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeciLovesReading/pseuds/CeciLovesReading
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something's helping demons kill angels for a greater purpose. Cas asks Sam and Dean to help him find this thing and defeat it. But they don't know what consecuences fighting this mysterious creature may bring. Or if they will even make it out alive...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Supernatural doesn't belong to me, unfortunately :(
> 
> Hello, this is my first SPN fic! Also, my second attempt at writing in english (which is not my native language) Any corrections will be much appreciated :)
> 
> Very slight Destiel ahead, but maybe I'll make it stronger later on. It all depends on if you like this or not.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> _l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_

Dean looked around, tall trees and a playground surrounded him. Birds sang somewhere to his left. The spring wind blew warm and fresh at the same time, lifting the leaves on the ground and making them dance around like an imaginary tornado. He knew where he was, he had brought Ben here once, a long time ago. But, why was he here now? He heard the shuffle of wings, and soon enough he knew the answer to his question.

"Dean"

"Cas, am I dreaming?"

"Yes. I need your help. Meet me at the back of Mordoré's warehouse, right now"

The angel silently disappeared and Dean woke up instantly. He told Sam what he knew. Sam jumped out of bed and followed his brother to the parking lot outside the motel's room. The Impala roared and came to life. Dean drove fast; they had to get there soon if the urgency in Cas' voice was anything to go by. Mordoré's warehouse was an attempted shoe factory, just outside of Omaha, Nebraska. It had never worked. Apparently, the shoes were just a smokescreen for drug dealings and money laundering. They found the place and turned left into the parking lot. Castiel was leaning on the back door of the warehouse; his hands were in his trench coat pockets. The brothers got out of the car and approached the angel.

"What's the problem, Cas?" asked Sam.

"Somehow a group of demons managed to kill one of my brothers and steal his angel blade," Cas looked at them both and continued, "I assume they were assisted by a really powerful source, and I'm certain they're here"

Dean placed his hands in his pockets and looked around, "And you need us to do what exactly?"

"It'd be foolish to just appear inside and get myself killed, so I need you to create a diversion while I find the blade. They can't have it"

"Alright. Let's go inside, kill those sons of bitches and get the blade back"

"We should think this through, we have no idea of how many demons we'll find inside. Dean, you and I can go first, buy Cas some time"

"Sam's right. There's a room at the back of the second floor, on the right corner. That's where they'll be hiding the blade. You deal with the demons down here and I'll take care of the ones up there" Cas said.

"Ok. We'll meet you there as soon as we're done" Dean said.

The Winchesters entered the warehouse carefully, knives and salt and holy water at hand. Expecting an ambush, or some kind of trick, or nothing at all. They were halfway through the first floor when they heard screaming from upstairs. The brothers looked at each other.

"Do you think it's...?" asked Sam.

"I'm not so sure" Dean replied.

Nothing else needed to be said. Like an unspoken agreement between them, both bolted upstairs and found something that left them speechless. Cas was fighting against five demons and two more were already on the floor. It looked as if they were dancing; precise movements and measured strikes. One of them jumped at the angel, but Cas was faster and with a swift motion he cut the demon's throat. Its scream died as its life ended. It fell to the ground with a thud. More demons came, but they didn't even glance at the brothers. It seemed the demon's only purpose was to kill the angel. Dean and Sam wouldn't let them do that, that's for damn sure.

Cas looked at them, he knew that he could fight nine demons at once, and he knew that it would only take a few minutes, but as usual the Winchesters exceeded his expectations. Sam and Dean ran towards the demons surrounding him and started killing them one by one. A very feline-like woman threw herself at Dean, making him fall on his back and lose the grip on his knife. The woman started punching him on the face. Cas finished with the man he was fighting and placed a hand on the woman's head. She started screaming and a white light burst from her face, illuminating Dean's. He watched with eyes wide open as the demon inside the fiery lady died. Dean pushed the woman's limp body out of the way and stood up, he turned around in time to see Sam killing the last demon. Dean and Sam were panting, but Cas looked as if nothing had happened. The perks of being an angel.

"You alright?" Sam asked his brother.

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah"

"The blade must be in there" Cas walked to the room he had mentioned before. The brothers waited for him a few meters behind. As soon as Castiel touched the door handle a spark blew and the angel was thrown back to a pile of boxes.

"Cas!" Dean shouted and he and Sam ran towards him.

"Stay away!" exclaimed the angel, standing up.

The door was torn from its hinges and flew across the room, Sam and Dean had to duck to avoid being hit. Cas stood prepared, his own angel blade held tight in his hand.

"Get out, now" demanded Cas "Leave"

"No way" Dean said.

A bright light emerged from the small room, and a tall, strong figure appeared on the door frame. It looked like a human being, a man, actually. Red hair sparkling like burning fire; iris black as coal. The man looked at Castiel and tilted his head, smiling slightly. The black clothes he was wearing made him look paler than he already was. He began walking towards the angel, as he did so he pulled the stolen angel blade from his leather jacket.

"I knew it wouldn't take long for another one of you to appear" said the man, getting closer. "You are wonderful creatures, indeed. Too bad I'm gonna have to kill you"

"How can you even exist? Your kind was exterminated centuries ago" asked Cas, "You know I won't let you get away, not after what you've done"

"Now, now, don't be like that; this is just the beginning of something... inevitable. You should join me, Castiel. Together we would be unstoppable! And all I need from you is your favourite toy" he pointed to the blade Cas was holding.

"I'm afraid I have to decline your offer. And about this," Cas spun the blade in his hand, his body positioned and ready to fight, "you'll only get it over my dead body"

"Cas..." started Dean.

It was stupid of Cas to dare that weirdo and risk his life, although Dean couldn't think of a different way in which he would have done it. Sam glared at his older brother, they had been silent to make things easier for the angel, but now it was all over. Cas' life was at stake, and probably theirs as well.

"That's why I like you, Cas " the man looked at Dean, then at Sam and back at Castiel, the smile on his face growing wider, "You're different. You waste your magnificent life next to these insignificant species and you don't care what others think about it. You'd rather die than give me that blade; you're a fighter. I could really use someone like you as my ally."

"The answer stays the same."

The stranger sighed and said, "As you wish. Killing you will be such a shame, though" then he started laughing and approached Cas, "Nah, just kidding. I think I'll actually enjoy it."

"I just have to do one more thing before we start" Cas turned around and extended his arms, his fingers were about to touch Dean and Sam's foreheads when a strange force held them back.

"Oh, no. Dear Sam and Dean will stay here, we don't want them to miss a thing, do we?"

"Fine" Cas was about to walk away, but a second before he locked eyes with Dean and whispered in an even more grave voice than usual, "Whatever happens don't intervene."

The brothers watched in awe how the angel spun around, trench coat floating like a cape, and stood face to face with the threatening stranger. Cas tilted his head, blade ready in his hand, and an intimidating glow in his eyes.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?"

"It will be my pleasure."

The man smiled, and that smile didn't promise anything good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is what we've been waiting for! Time to know what happens with Cas, the Winchester brothers and the evil stranger, dun dun duuun...
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> _l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_

Tension filled the room.

No one dared to speak.

The fight began.

The stranger moved faster than any other demon the brothers had seen, maybe because it wasn't a demon. Cas, always ready, waited until the man was nearly at arm's length to vanish and appear right behind him. The redhead turned around and blocked Cas' death blow with his own blade. The man hit once, twice, three times; none of them reaching its destination. Cas blocked and avoided his enemy's blade every time. It had been centuries since he had to fight someone like him. But they say, what you learn you never really forget.

Dean was dying to help the angel. This man was something new, something neither Sam nor him had fought before; therefore he couldn't know whether Cas could win or not. And it was making him very anxious. Sam noticed, and stood ready to stop his brother from doing something stupid. They had promised Cas they wouldn't intervene, and they wouldn't. Unless the situation got all critical, which they hoped it didn't. Then a loud hiss brought Sam back to earth, and just in time, because Dean was about to launch himself against the madman. The red haired man had cut Cas on his midsection, somewhere to his left. Castiel lifted a bloodied hand from his side and narrowed his eyes.

"Ready to give up?" the stranger asked.

"Never" was the angel's reply.

And so they kept fighting, Cas winning some, but also losing some. The stranger seemed unstoppable. Even though Cas had hit him multiple times, he didn't look weakened at all. The brothers couldn't say the same about their friend. Castiel was a bit paler, blood stained his clothes and Dean feared he wouldn't last for much longer. Each cut made by the blade meant less strength to keep fighting.

Until the strange man made a mistake; as he turned to attack Cas, the angel stopped the arm holding the blade with his hand, and with supernatural force stabbed the red haired in the stomach. The man opened his mouth, though not a sound came out. Then he started laughing. Why wasn't he dead?

"Oh, it will take more than that to kill me, Castiel" the man said.

Sam and Dean watched speechless as the man threw Cas across the room, and then pulled the blade from his abdomen as if it were nothing, throwing it to the farthest corner of the room. Cas got on his feet and tried to reach his blade, but the stranger was faster and hit Cas so hard he fell to the ground again. The man hauled Castiel by the neck and whispered to his ear, "You should've accepted the deal"

Cas thought he heard someone far away shouting "Dean!", but his ears were buzzing and he didn't feel like trying to find out what was happening. He could barely breathe, his hands clasped around his attacker's arm, trying to shake it off his neck. And his enemy's blade was oh so close to his chest. Then the man gave a cry of frustration, and dropped Cas. The angel understood then why he had let him go. Dean was behind the stranger, holding Cas' angel blade, and it was stained with a ruddy colour. The man turned around slowly and Cas could see the spot, right in the middle of the back, where the blade had been inserted.

Cas sighed and swore under his breath. Now he would kill Dean. Great.

'Red hair' approached the older Winchester, each forward step meant a backwards step by Dean. He didn't know what to do, he could fight, alright; but then, what? If Cas hadn't been able to kill him, how could he? Unexpectedly, a knife was thrown and it hit the man right in the chest. Dean turned to find Sam standing next to him. Now the stranger was truly pissed, he screamed and launched himself against the brothers. Dean took Sam by the arm and then…

Then, they were on an alley.

"Sammy, you alright?" Dean asked. Sam nodded and tried to figure out where they were.

"Impeccable timing, Cas" Sam said, and hearing no response looked around "Where's Cas?"

"Oh no, you didn't" Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "You son of a…"

Back at Mordoré's warehouse the man had been left alone. He shook his head and looked at the ceiling, as if he could see beyond it. And maybe he could.

"This isn't over, Castiel"

"Of course it isn't, Beelzebub"

The man, called Beelzebub, turned fast on his heels. There was Castiel, a lit match in his right hand. With his left he tore a gas pipe open and threw the match at it. It took less than 3 seconds for the flame to travel all the way through the pipe and blow up the whole building. The blast threw both Cas and Beelzebub flying across the room until they hit a wall. The ceiling was falling down, and the flames were creeping up from the stairs, consuming the floor and the walls. Cas didn't wait to see what happened next.

He appeared on the same alley where he had left Sam and Dean. Their backs were turned on him, they were looking at the burning warehouse some blocks away. As soon as they heard the shuffle of wings they turned around. Expressions of uncertainty and fear replaced by ones of worry and relief. Cas tried to get to them, but after having taken only two steps his legs gave out and he fell on his knees. Dean ran and kneeled in front of him, Sam stayed a few steps behind.

"I believe I told you not to intervene"

"I know. But God only knows what would become of me if I lost you, knowing I could have done something to prevent it" Dean held Cas' shoulders, staring right into his eyes, as if he could see deep into his soul; and then hugged him.

The angel silently gasped both from pain and the unexpected display of sentiment. He knew this was wrong, it had been a terrible mistake letting himself get attached to this man. But it had been even worse letting Dean get attached to him. An angel can't express his feelings the way humans do. Sure, they were friends and they cared about each other. But there couldn't be something more than an unusual friendship. And those words? They had been said due to an extremely dangerous situation, which they had barely survived. So, he didn't actually mean it, did he? It was just the heat of the moment.

"I've lost so many people, Cas. I can't lose you too" said Dean, as he pulled away.

Beautiful blue eyes bored into green ones, doubt clear in their gaze.

Heartbeats that had slowed down quickly rising up. Heavy breathing. Dizziness. Internal bleeding... It all hit the weakened angel at once. Stars flew in front of his eyes, and they lost focus.

"Cas?" Dean asked. "Cas, are you ok?"

The hunter gave his angel a little shake, trying to bring him back to earth, as he was apparently lost in his own thoughts. Cas heard his friend's words, he opened his mouth to say he was alright but the only thing that came out was, "Dean?"

And all too soon he was gone. It seemed he was falling in slow motion; lights blurred, darkness taking over.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_

Cas didn't notice the bright red lights nor did he hear the ambulance's siren as it approached the three of them. Dean held Cas in his arms until the paramedics asked him to let them take care of the poor angel. Dean obliged but not without hesitation. The paramedics tied Cas to a gurney and placed him in the ambulance. One of them turned around and asked the brothers whether any of them would like to ride with Castiel or not.

"We'll be right behind you, but thanks" Sam said, nodding lightly.

"Actually, Sam, I'll go with Cas. Here, take the keys. See you there" Dean tossed the keys at his brother and hopped into the ambulance, next to the gurney.

Sam stared at his brother, and started up the Impala. He called Bobby on the way to the hospital and told him what had happened; Bobby promised he would dig up as much as he could on the red haired crazy man. One thing didn't leave Sam's mind, though. It shouldn't be awkward, Dean wanting to ride with Cas, they were friends. Still, something felt odd about it. Dean was the one who showed more sentiment lately, but what Sam saw back at the alley was too much for his brother. Could it be that…? No, what was he thinking? Of course Dean wasn't gay. Although, the way his brother and the angel looked at each other sometimes made him doubt…

His thoughts were interrupted by a big bright arrow signaling the hospital's parking lot entrance. He found the perfect place to park, near the emergency wing, where he knew Dean would be. Sam entered the hospital and almost immediately spotted his brother, pacing up and down the hall, obviously waiting for news.

"Hey" Dean said.

"Dean, calm down. He'll be fine"

"Yeah"

Sam sat on one of the blue plastic benches designed for family and friends, while Dean continued to pace. Sam thought he heard him sigh once or twice. The emergency wing was kind of empty, only a couple and their child were there with the brothers. The young woman looked at them and quickly averted her gaze. Two men wearing dirty and bloodied clothes weren't something you would like to share the same space with. The kid just stared at them with curiosity and said something to his mom; she said 'no' with her head, and the boy continued drawing with crayons on a nearby plastic table. Finally, after two and a half hours of drifting in and out of sleep and drinking tasteless coffee, a rather small but well built doctor walked out of surgery. Sam quickly stood up, and Dean stopped mid step to turn around and face the medical man. The other family also stood and stared. The doctor adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

"Who are Mrs. Sorenson's relatives?"

"That's us!" the woman said, walking towards the doctor, followed close by her husband and son.

"Can I see Granny now?" the little boy asked his father, holding his hand.

"Of course, Thomas. You'll see her very soon" said the man, smiling.

The boy walked skipping the lines between floor tiles and laughing every time his dad lifted him up by the arms and spun him around.

Sam sighed and sat back again, Dean followed. He looked truly disappointed. None of them noticed the tall man in blue clothes and white medical gown until he was just within arm's reach. The Winchester boys looked up expectantly, eyes hopeful; it even seemed they were holding their breath.

"I assume you are Mr. Novak's relatives?"

"We are" Dean said, while he and Sam stood up.

"Good. Have you been checked already?" the doctor pointed at Dean's chest, shirt covered in blood.

"Uh, yeah. It's not my blood"

"Alright. Please follow me"

Sam and Dean followed the doctor down a few halls, turning left then right then left again. They reached the ICU, stopping in front of a white door with a black number seven on top. They tried to look through the window, but the curtains were drawn. The doctor inhaled, held his breath for a moment and then let it out less carefully, looking at them just a little suspicious.

"Listen, I have no idea of what happened to you. Don't know, don't care. But, I do care about saving that man in there" he pointed at the window. "Right now he's receiving blood transfusions and he is sedated. It will take about ten hours until the sedatives wear off. His wounds have been cleaned and patched. Most of them will heal fast, but I worry about the one on his abdomen, he lost a good amount of blood. He has a concussion and some swelling, specially on his back. His neck is also painted with 'a lovely shade of blue-ish green' finger marks. We'll have him under observation for the next twenty-four hours, to see how he progresses, and then we can estimate how long he'll have to stay here"

"Thanks doc, can we see him now?" Dean couldn't seem to wait, as usual.

"Yes. But only one at a time"

"Oh, come on…"

"Dean, there are rules. You go first, I'll be right here" Sam interrupted, before his brother could get himself banned from the hospital.

"Is it just the two of you?" the doctor asked.

"Yes. Just my brother and I" Sam said.

The doctor sighed, "Well, I can make an exception. But you have to promise you'll be really quiet. Don't want any patients complaining about you"

"Thanks, doctor…?"

"Connelly"

"Well, doctor Connelly, thank you very much" Dean said, holding out his hand.

Connelly nodded and shook both Dean and Sam's hand, then he turned and disappeared down the hall. Dean carefully opened the door and peeked inside, Sam pushed him and both entered the room, almost knocking over an empty vase on the process. Dean hushed his brother and pulled a chair next to the bed where a sedated Cas was sleeping. Sam stood on the other side. Cas looked paler than usual, but that was -of course- because of the blood loss. Both of them felt tired, but none would say anything. They have serious stubbornness issues.

"Get some sleep, Sammy"

Sam hesitated but agreed, nonetheless. "OK, I'll sleep if you promise to wake me up so I can take your place"

"We have a deal"

Sam just shook his head and tried to get comfortable on the hard couch (which was too small for him) next to a window, facing a beautiful garden, darkened by the never ending blackness of the night.

It was nearing dawn when Cas first regained consciousness. His heavy eyelids didn't allow him to open his eyes, but his other senses slowly started making their way through the sedative induced haze. He heard light snoring somewhere to his left. Cas tried moving his index finger and almost achieved it, when something else caught his attention. There was something warm wrapped around his right wrist, and it didn't feel like a bandage. He couldn't open his eyes and see what it was, but he managed to move his fingers, which explored their surroundings. Cas felt unconsciousness pulling him down again into darkness, but he didn't want to give in until he knew what emanated that warm feeling. His fingers found something soft that felt a lot like hair; traveling down they reached smooth skin, long eyelashes, cheekbones and a nose, and soft lips followed by a strong cleft chin. That meant someone had fallen asleep next to him, holding his wrist. Someone named Dean Winchester.

Reckless, brave, broken Dean Winchester.

Holding his wrist.

He actually enjoyed the touch, he found it comforting; a way to now he was still alive. Or maybe he wasn't, and this was his own piece of heaven. That was his last thought as blackness welcomed him. At that same instant Sam woke up. He got on his feet, rubbed his eyes and stretched. He definitely wasn't going to sleep on that thing again. Of course Dean hadn't woken him, and of course Dean had fallen asleep as well. And, of course, Dean was holding Cas' hand. Wait, what? No, not his hand. His wrist. Maybe he was still dreaming, but he wasn't. Well, that was something he certainly hadn't seen coming. And now he would have a nice little chat with his brother.

Should he wake him?

No. He would wait a couple of hours to let Dean rest, and then he would wake him.

They seriously needed to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_
> 
> Fluuuuff <3
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> -CLR.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you, awesome reader! Hello :)  
> It's been a while, but I'm back... Yay!  
> Thanks a lot to everyone who's been commenting and has subscribed. It keeps me going, really.
> 
> Enjoy the fourth chapter!

_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_

Two hours later, somewhere between eight and eight -thirty in the morning, Sam had already bought breakfast for Dean and himself in the hospital's cafeteria and had taken a change of clothes for them both from the Impala's trunk. He returned to Cas' room and got changed. He looked at his brother and the angel, and couldn't help but smile. He found his phone in his pocket and took a picture, giggling. If Dean ever found out he would kill him. Anyway, time to wake him up.

"Dean." Sam shook his brother's shoulder "Dean, wake up"

"Hmm?" Dean yawned and, realizing he was holding Cas' wrist and had fallen asleep next to him, quickly sat up really straight. "Yeah, right. He'll be alright. I was just," Dean cleared his throat and let go of Cas "taking his pulse."

"Yeah, sure. I brought you some clean clothes. Breakfast is on the table" Sam pointed to the wooden table next to the sofa.

"Geez, thanks man. What would I do without you?" Dean beamed at his brother, then took the clothes and went to the bathroom. Five minutes later he was out, changed and clean. He had rubbed the blood from his face and hands, and felt his stomach churn when the smell of croissants and real coffee reached his nose.

"I'm starving!"

"Me too. It seems the croissants are the only truly edible food in here, everything else is just… disgusting" Sam grimaced and got the food out of its plastic bag. "The coffee is from the seven-eleven across the street"

"Hmm, my favorite" Dean clasped his hands and took a sip, almost spitting it out when the hot liquid burnt his tongue.

"Careful, it's…"

"Burning!" Dean made an awkward face, and left the paper cup back on the table. "Thanks for the heads up..."

"Sorry, I tried to warn you" Sam shrugged, handing Dean his croissant and unwrapping his own.

"Yeah, a little too late."

Sam ignored him and moved the conversation to more pressing matters, "Dude, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot" Dean said, with a mouthful of croissant.

"Do you, I don't know, have any sort of feelings for Cas?"

"What?" Dean looked at Sam with widening eyes, almost choking on his croissant.

'Ok, maybe that wasn't the best way to start the conversation,' Sam thought. 'Nice try for a smooth change, idiot.'

"You know, maybe you… like him, somehow? Which is fine, by the way…"

"Of course not! I think you hit your head way too hard yesterday and now you're imagining stuff" Dean said, looking down at his croissant.

"No. The things you said back in the alley, you weren't pretending any of that. Those weren't lies. I know you, Dean"

"Sam… We are brothers, hell, we've spent almost our whole lives together! But don't say you know me, 'cause you don't. Not completely." Dean got on his feet and started walking towards the door.

"Dean, stop. Alright, maybe I don't know you that much. But, I've seen the way you are around him; how you look at him, how he looks at you, and… "

"Let me stop you right there, okay?" Dean interrupted holding up his hand, he turned around and faced his brother. "I don't feel anything for Cas. He's a freaking angel, he saved me from Hell, and I'm grateful for that…"

"Even though you've never thanked him…"

Dean glared at Sam, disapprovingly. He shook his head and continued, "But I don't feel anything, anything, beyond friendship."

"Are you sure? I'm not judging you. I just want to make sure you realize this before anything happens…"

"What could happen?"

"Ah…"

"Nothing! Nothing happens!" Dean exclaimed.

"Alright, calm down! I'm just trying to understand…"

"Well, stop trying! If you 'trying to understand' means I'll get drowned with questions about my preferences, then I pass."

"Dean, come on! It was just a silly question. Let's forget this, okay?" Sam sighed.

"Oh, sure. Nothing happened. Don't you worry your pretty hairy head!" Dean replied, and accidentally crashed into the small table with the vase while trying to leave. The vase staggered and, before any of them could do anything, fell. It was mere inches from touching the cold white floor, when it floated like a paper sheet and placed itself back safely on the table.

"For God's sake, could you please keep it down?" a rough, deep voice asked.

The brothers froze for a few seconds (that seemed eternal) and turned their heads towards the bed, where Cas was frowning.

"You're awake," said Sam.

"It would seem so."

"Um, Cas… how much of our conversation did you hear?" asked Dean.

"All of it," answered Cas, sincere as always.

Dean sighed and muttered, "Great."

"Have you anything to say about it?" Sam asked.

"I say there's no time for this. Beelzebub won't stop until he gets what he wants…"

"Beelzebub? Is that the loony's name?"

"Yes, Dean. It is."

"I'll call Bobby," said Sam, but before he could even take a step towards the door Dean practically ran out of the room, saying, "I'll call him!"

"So, Cas, now that Dean is gone will you tell me what you think about what we were discussing?"

"I believe there is nothing to be said or done, Sam."

"Right, maybe we should call a nurse."

"If you must."

Sam pressed the nurse button and soon a woman on her early forties appeared, she took Cas vital signs and asked him some questions, which he responded truthfully. She was impressed by his fast healing, and assured them he would be able to leave pretty soon. It was quite the opposite when Doctor Connelly arrived; he was surprised as well, but couldn't believe Cas was getting better by the minute and wanted to examine his injuries again, check his abdomen wound and keep him in the hospital for another day. He seemed to find his extra-fast healing process suspicious instead of miraculous. Good thing Dean wasn't there, he sure would've made a fuss.

The doctor left ten minutes later. Cas closed his eyes, but didn't fall asleep, and Sam picked a book from a shelf next to the couch. They were surrounded by a comfortable silence, which wasn't broken until Dean returned.

_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_

Dean ran out of the room, pushing a nurse walking down the hallway on his way out. He apologized and slowed down. He had to leave the room, it was just too awkward. Why did Sam think he felt something for Cas? It was ridiculous. He had said a couple things, he wouldn't deny it, but that meant nothing. Anyway, he would think about this later. Now, down to business.

He pulled his phone and dialed the well remembered number. After two rings Bobby Singer answered. Dean just said one word, 'Beelzebub', and heard Bobby sigh. It was a sigh that meant he knew something was really bad.

"You know anything 'bout this son of a bitch?"

"I do, but I can't tell you this over the phone. In which hospital are you?"

"Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha. ICU, room seven"

"Right. I'll be there in a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Bobby."

The line went dead and Dean kept walking, he didn't know where he was going, though. He got lost a couple of times, reaching dead-ends. He walked maybe half an hour, until he found himself in a backyard; it was full of noisy children that, apparently, didn't run out of battery and were, therefore, left in the yard to play. All except one. Dean recognized the kid, it was the boy from last night, the one with the parents and the sick granny. He was sitting alone on a swing set. Dean approached him and sat on the other swing.

"Hey buddy, mind if I sit here?"

"No problem," the boy replied.

"What's your name?"

"Thomas. Who are you?"

"Name's Dean. Why aren't you playing like the other kids?"

"I'm not like the other kids, and I shouldn't be talking to you," Thomas looked around and then at his feet.

"Why would you say that?" asked Dean.

"Leave me alone, please." Thomas looked at Dean with pleading eyes, "No one wants to be with me."

"It's gonna be okay, kid. Your Granny will get better," Dean knew he was lying. Thomas' grandmother could get worse, or even die, but right now it seemed like an adequate thing to say.

"It's not Granny I'm worried about, it's my dad. He abandoned us this morning. Left me and mom all alone, I don't know where he went. And I'm so angry with him," Thomas scowled and his attention was captured by a beautiful butterfly passing by. The boy glared at it and, suddenly, the butterfly fell, right in front of his little feet. The tiny wings started to burn, and the fire consumed the poor insect.

Dean felt his jaw drop, but quickly composed himself. What was this kid?

"You see, Dean, I'm not a good kid. It was my fault that Granny fell down the stairs. And I bet I'm the reason Dad left"

"Why is your granny's accident your fault, Thomas?"

"It wasn't an accident! She scolded me for not doing my homework and I wished she fell, and she did. But I swear, I really didn't want it to happen" Thomas had started to cry.

"Thomas, trust me, it wasn't your fault," he was lying again. If the kid had burnt the butterfly to death, then he could be well damn capable of pushing his granny down the stairs. Dean smiled at Thomas and got up, he walked out of the yard.

It was easier to find the way back to the room than he had thought. He passed through the urgency wing and everything looked exactly the same as last night, but one thing caught his eye. A drawing, Thomas' drawing, was still on the table where he had been playing by himself. He wasn't expecting what he saw on the colored paper. There was a boy (looking a lot like Thomas), and a flight of stairs, from where a gray haired woman was about to fall. A doctor would call it PTSD, but a hunter, seeing the things they see; and Dean, after watching what Thomas did to the butterfly, wouldn't think it was PTSD. Specially if the boy in the drawing had black eyes, as dark as coal.

Dean folded the paper twice and put it in his pocket. He checked his watch as he walked to Cas' room; Bobby would be there in less than thirty minutes. He had lost track of time while wandering around. Dean found room seven and entered without knocking. Sam was halfway through a novel, and Cas was (or wasn't) sleeping.

"Here, look what I found."

Cas opened his eyes and Sam put the novel aside, getting closer to his brother. Dean showed him the drawing and then gave it to Cas. Sam looked confused. The angel sighed and rested his head back on the pillow; this meant what he had feared was true.

"Where did you find this?" asked Cas.

"Urgency wing. Last night a boy was drawing and left it there. Apparently, he mentally pushed his grandma down the stairs."

"How do you know that?" Sam looked at him.

"I talked with him. I saw him burn a freaking butterfly alive, with only his eyes!"

"You saw him do that. He's not human," Cas intervened.

"So, what is he?" asked Sam.

Right then Bobby arrived. He entered the room and stared at the trio, sensing something was wrong.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Good, you're here. Close the door. What I'm about to tell you can't be heard by no one but you three," said Cas.

"Yes, sir" Bobby mocked a salute.

Bobby shut the door and sat on one of the chairs; Dean followed, and Sam tried to get comfortable on the couch.

"This is gonna be a hell of a ride" Bobby said.

_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the update of a new chapter ;)
> 
> PS. I've just started college so maybe it'll take a little while to update, sorry darlings.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Supernatural doesn't belong to me, unfortunately :( 
> 
> Hello there, little readers! Long time no read, I'm so sorry about that.   
> I actually forgot about this fic, I feel very ashamed of myself. School kept me awfully busy, I apologize.
> 
> Now, on with the fic!

_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_

"So, this Beelzebub, what or who is he?" Sam asked. 

"He was once called Prince of Demons or, as most people know him, Lord of the Flies." 

"What, like the movie?" asked Dean, smirking. 

"It was originally a book, Dean," Sam said.

"Shut up, you two," Bobby reprimanded them. 

"But before all that," continued Cas, ignoring the reference unknown to him "he was a high ranking angel in Heaven."

"Surprise, surprise."

Sam glared at his brother. Cas just continued talking. 

"As you have noticed, he fell. He became a very powerful demon, fought his way up the demonic chain to the place he is now. His atrocious acts were so infamous even humans dared to call him Satan. But that was centuries ago. Back then we used to fight him, and demons like him. All had the same -and only one- purpose in mind." 

"Which was?" inquired Bobby.

"To be unstoppable" Cas seemed to make a dramatic pause, "We killed most of them. The ones that weren't slaughtered were sent to a dark cell at the bottom of Hell. Somehow he managed to get out, and now he's searching for something else. Something more powerful and dangerous than anything you've fought before... I had no idea what it was; I had my suspicions, but I didn't know for sure. Now that you've shown me that drawing I am certain of what he is planning. Let's just hope he hasn't got any other powerful demon involved."

"What is he planning, Cas?"

"Dean, what creature would you say the boy was?" answered Cas with another question.

"I'd say he was a demon, maybe, but..."

"But what?" Cas was looking at him dead in the eye, knowing he was one step from the answer. 

"But the boy didn't know he was a demon," Sam completed the sentence, realization hit both the Winchester brothers and Bobby, "How can he be a demon and not know it?"

"Does the boy have something to do with Beelzebub's plan, then?" Bobby asked. 

"I'm afraid he does. And you've said it: he is a demon, not possessed by one, though."

"Alright, so, this kid is a demon. But his demonic self doesn't take over because he doesn't know what he is," Sam summarized. 

"Exactly. Now, the boy is the son of an angel..."

"Wait, what?" Bobby intervened, "An angel has a demon son? Well, that is bad luck."

"An angel who lost his or her grace. Many of my brothers and sisters have fallen and, as they can't cope with life on Earth, they lose their grace in the process of being here. This angel doesn't know his or her origin. They can't recognize a demon at plain sight. That's why Beelzebub chose them. He just gets a demon to possess that lost angel's partner and, when they procreate, a half-demon/half-angel is born. Now, Beelzebub wants to create as many of them as he can. Their ignorance makes them more dangerous, and almost indestructible. We have to stop him now,” Cas said as he sat straight and tried to jump off the bed.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” asked Dean, placing a hand on Cas’ shoulder to stop him. “You are still weak and you haven’t told us why Beelzebub is creating this angelic-demon children yet.”

“I’ll tell you later, now let’s move. He can’t be allowed to exist,” Cas ignored Dean and Sam’s protests as he walked towards the door. In a blink of an eye he was, once again, wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt, blue tie (why was it never straight?) and, above all that, his beloved sand-colored trenchcoat.

“When you said ‘he’, did you mean the boy?” asked Bobby.

“Yes.”

“Cas, he may be a demon, but is it really necessary to kill him?” asked Sam, hoping they wouldn’t have to do it.

“I know this goes against your principles, but I’m afraid it is” Cas said, and opened the door slightly “I’ll do it. You can stay here if you like, I’ll be right back”

“Hell, no. I’ve seen what this kid can do. We’re coming with you” stated Dean.

“Fine. But on one condition,” Cas said, and eyed each one of them carefully “if I tell you to hide, you hide; if I tell you to run… you run.”

He didn’t even wait for them to analyze his demand; he just left the room, and was soon followed by Dean, Sam and Bobby.

Walking fast, with Cas on the lead, they found the playground pretty quickly, but the boy wasn’t there anymore. 

“It seems the boy’s gone, what now?” asked Bobby.

Sam sighed, half relieved and half worried. Dean looked around slowly, as if the kid was playing hide n’ seek with them. Cas closed his eyes for a few seconds and then turned around, walking back into the hospital.

“Cas! Hey, wait!” Dean shouted after him, but he wouldn’t stop walking.

Sam, Dean and Bobby tried to catch up with him, and after a good fast-paced walk they did. He had stopped right outside the blood bank.

“The kid’s in here. I can sense him” 

“Why would he be in the blood bank?” Sam wondered out loud.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Cas responded, and with a twist of his hand he opened the locked door, entering the room.

It was dark and cold; the only light came from a window high on the wall in front of them. Dean clutched his knife tightly, while Sam went to turn on the lights. As the lights came alive they could hear someone talking, a woman. 

“Maybe a nurse is talking to him” said Bobby.

They followed the voice, entering another room –colder than the other-, and then walking through a hall with fridges on both sides, containing bags of blood labeled by blood type. They found her by the end of the long hall. Alone.

It was Thomas’ mom.

“She’s the demon?” asked Bobby, confused. “I would’ve believed it was the father, he left after all.”

“You don’t know anything,” she hissed.

“Well, we don’t need to, do we?” said Dean, taking a step closer, standing almost next to Cas. “We just have to kill you.”

“Castiel,” said the woman, and none of them liked the way she said it, “I was hoping to visit you later, you know, finish the job” she shrugged and fake sighed, as she took an angel blade from her purse. “I guess I’ll have to do it now.”

The woman lurched towards them, but Cas stopped her mid-jump, easily evading the blade, and threw her to the ground, pressing his hand against her forehead until a blinding light emerged from her eyes and mouth.

“NO!”

The scream was deafening, much like an angel’s real voice, and cracked the fridges’ glass. They all held their breath as they turned around and saw Thomas standing at the beginning of the hall, right behind them.

“You killed her! You killed my Mom!”

“She wasn’t your mom anymore, kiddo,” said Dean, holding up his hands and trying –but actually failing- to calm him.

Thomas was on the verge of tears, but he wouldn’t cry. A great rage painted his childish features, making him look older, and he screamed again, turning his small hands into fists. This time the glass shattered completely and some blood bags exploded. The broken glass fell over them, while they tried to cover themselves with their arms. Except for Cas. He stood up and walked towards the kid. Each one of his hands held an angel blade.

The boy stopped screaming and turned his attention to Cas, whose face and clothes were stained with blood, both from the blood bags and the cuts the glass had made.

“What are you?” asked Thomas.

“I am an angel of the Lord,” Cas said, “you should know that, you’re one as well.”

“I am not an angel. I’m a demon!”

“You’re both. Half of you is a demon, but the other half is an angel.” This seemed to have caught the boy’s attention, and he was now willing to listen to Castiel.

“Listen, Thomas…” started Sam, as he and Dean and Bobby tried to walk towards him.

Thomas looked at them as they tried to get to him, but he wouldn’t let them. With his power he pushed them towards the fridges, making them crash against them with their backs. Dean and Bobby were on the left side, Sam on the right. He began mentally pushing them to the roof above them; the broken glass that clung to the fridges cut their backs, their arms, and their clothes. Blood began dripping from them as more pieces of glass pierced through their skin. Their muffled groans soon grew louder.

“Stop it,” demanded Cas.

But Thomas ignored him.

“I said stop it,” and thunder echoed in the room and the walls and the floor below them trembled as he spoke. Cas’ voice was utterly fierce and commanding; it must have made the kid feel threatened for he stopped pushing them at once. “Now, let them go.”

“No.” Thomas said, “Not until you tell me what I truly am.”

“I already told you” said Cas, cocking his head to the left, “you are the son of an angel and a demon.”

“Why did you kill my mother?”

“She attacked us.”

“Are you going to kill me too?” Thomas’ voice became stronger, and the hunters were pushed a little bit harder against the glass.

“Cas…” it was merely a whisper.

Cas looked over his shoulder and saw Dean, he was in pain. He didn’t have to speak; his eyes told the angel everything he had to say. Cas’ jaw tensed as he looked back at Thomas; and Thomas considered his silence as a “yes”.

Cas took a couple steps towards Thomas, he was at arm’s reach now, when a cold feeling spread through his body and congregated at his throat, choking him. He didn’t really need to breathe but the feeling disabled him, and he was now on his knees. He felt as if he had to rip his lungs out. Something was tearing him apart from inside. He unconsciously dropped the blades and pressed his hands against his thorax, feeling his own blood seeping through his pores. He fell forward, landing on his hands and earning more cuts.

Right in that moment a young male nurse appeared and cursed at the sight. He rubbed his eyes and gasped after realizing it wasn’t an hallucination. Thomas turned around slowly, and quite menacingly, to be honest. Poor guy, he was going to get killed. Sam took advantage of those precious seconds of confusion.

“Cas, are you alright?”

“I am” said Cas.

A soft light emanated from his body as his grace increased its might. Cas took one of the blades and, before Thomas could break the nurse’s neck, stabbed him in the back. The little boy gasped and fell backwards, into Cas’ stretched arms. The nurse just fainted.

Sam, Dean and Bobby fell to the ground, and were greeted by more shattered glass.

“Son of a bitch” said Dean, barely lifting his face from the floor. A nasty gash decorated his otherwise soft cheek.

“Is he dead?” asked Bobby, trying to stand up. Everything hurt, so he just lied there on his stomach, using his forearms to at least separate his head from the cold floor.

Cas left the boy on the floor, carefully, and hid both blades in his trenchcoat. He got up slowly, staggering a little when he first tried to walk towards his friends.

“No. It is not that simple to kill these creatures. He’ll be unconscious for a while”

Sam hadn’t said anything. They heard him having a fit of cough, and then nothing.

“Sam, you alright?” asked Dean.

But he didn’t answer. Now Bobby called his name. And again, he didn’t respond. Dean was worried, and even though it hurt, he half crawled, half dragged his body through the glass covered floor to get to his little brother. 

Cas reached Bobby, and healed him by touching his shoulder. He took his time getting on his feet. 

“Come on, Sammy,” Dean managed to get on his knees, despite all the pain it caused, and was now gently turning his brother on his back, cleaning the floor from all the glass before letting him down again. “Sam? Sammy?” 

Bobby was leaning a little on Cas as they walked towards the brothers. Dean’s voice grew more and more desperate. Upon reaching them, they knew why. Sam had fallen over a few pieces of glass that had accidentally fallen upward, and were embedded in his body.  
“Sam!” Dean shouted. Sam opened his eyes slowly, looking around confused. He coughed again, and blood appeared in his mouth.

Cas made sure Bobby could stay on his feet by himself, and then got on his knees next to Dean. He looked at the hunter, and the hunter looked at him. They both knew what was going to happen next. Cas placed his left hand on Dean’s back, careful not to hurt him more, and a second later his whole body was as good as new. Cas then turned to Sam and briefly touched his forehead with his other hand. A second later he was sitting straight.

He hadn’t noticed his left hand was still on Dean’s back.

Dean cleared his throat, and Cas moved. It was strange, but Dean kind of missed the warmth of Cas’ hand. Now he felt cold.

The place was a complete mess. And they left it that way. The only thing they did before leaving was erase the memory of what happened from the nurse’s mind. Cas then transported them to the parking lot; they found the Impala and drove off to the bunker, it was a silent trip.

When they got there Cas got out the Impala, carrying the boy in his arms. But he stopped before entering.

“Hey, Cas, what’s wrong?”

“I shouldn’t have asked for your help,” Cas knew this was wrong; still it was the only way of getting them out of this before it was too late, so he kept a resolute expression. “I am grateful, but I won’t lead you into more dangerous situations. Thank you for your help. And I am sorry for all the pain I have put you through.”

“Cas, in the morning you said you would tell us more about Beelzebub’s plan, and now you want us out of this?” Sam said, incredulity clear in his voice.

“Yes,” was all Cas said.

“You know we’ve been through much more than this, Cas. We can do this,” Dean intervened, “together.”

“I’m sorry.”

Dean looked at him, brows furrowed and mouth slightly open, as if wanting to say something else. But he couldn’t find the adequate words. Cas just looked at him, and for a second Dean thought he could see sadness underneath all that resolution.

And with that the angel left, still carrying the unconscious child. Leaving a sad and heavy atmosphere behind him.

_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks a lot for reading! I would absolutely love a beautiful review ;)   
> If it’s taking me a lot to update I won’t mind if you demand the next chapter via PM or comment haha I swear I’ll try to update sooner.
> 
> Some of you may have questions, if so feel free to ask.
> 
> Love you, sweeties.
> 
> -CLR.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, I felt really bad for not updating in such a long time, before I posted Chapter 5. Here you go, a brand new, just finished, new chapter. Yay!
> 
> Enjoy.

**_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_**

 

 

The hospital incident had made it to the news.

 

Apparently one of the nurses (the one who had the misfortune of finding them) suffered from amnesia and panic attacks and had destroyed the hospital's blood bank. He had been charged for unprofessionalism and endangering his coworkers’ lives, and was practically dragged to the police car.

 

It had been almost two months since it happened.

 

One month, three weeks, and not a word from Cas.

 

The Winchesters were frustrated, especially Dean. You could see him pacing up and down the bunker; reading something here, snatching something from there, tossing something else over there. Sam felt helpless as well, but could manage it better.

 

Bobby had left the next day. Promising to find out as much as he could on angel-demon children and their relation to Beelzebub. As it turns, there wasn't much to it. Still, he got in touch every now and then, trying to lure them out and into new cases. Nearly two months was a long time to be wrapped up in ancient books and annotations that weren't any more helpful.

 

“Dean, it can't go on like this,” said Sam, while signaling the floor. Dean sat cross-legged on a rug, beer at hand reach and surrounded by old documents with awful drawings (if you were to ask him).

 

“Do you have a better idea?” said Dean, looking up at his brother.

 

“I do,” he said, matter-of-factly.

 

“Well, I'm all ears.”

 

“Okay, listen. It's been almost two months and we still got nothing to go on. I think we should go out and accept one of Bobby's cases…”

 

“No.”

 

“Dea-  why?” said Sam, starting to get annoyed at his brother's stubbornness.

 

“What good would it do? It wouldn't take us any nearer to finding Cas, or Beelzebub,” he took a sip of his beer and got on his feet.

 

“How would you know?” Sam asked, and at this his brother stopped to a halt.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“How can you possibly know those cases won't help us find them? Look, maybe they do have something in common with what we are looking for. If this Beelzebub is creating more and more of those children maybe, just maybe, whatever else is going on outside could be consequence of Beelzebub's work.”

 

“Alright, let's see. Is there anything that has caught your attention?”

 

Sam smiled, victorious, and jogged to his desk to get the papers he had printed minutes before.

 

“So, get this. There have been electric storms and very strong winds in Cathedral City, California. There shouldn't be, not this time of year. _‘I had never seen anything quite like it’_ says Mrs. Zhu” finished Sam, using air quotes for that.

 

Dean snorted and walked towards the kitchen, no doubt looking for another beer.

 

“And you think that has anything to do with our problems right now?” he asked, maybe a little more harshly than needed.

 

“God…” Sam sighed, and ran his hand through his hair “Dean, just cut the crap, okay? I'm tired of it. Let's go and solve some freaking case and, who knows? Maybe we stumble across Cas along the way.”

 

Sam would never know what got into his brother right there and then, but when he returned from the kitchen he handed Sam a beer and drank from his own, finally putting it down and pursing his lips lightly.

 

“Fine,” he said, “we leave tomorrow morning.”

 

And he left with nothing more than a pat on the shoulder to his confused little brother.

 

_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_

The sun was rising and Sam and Dean were almost done packing their things in the Impala.

 

“Cathedral City, here we go,” said Dean, looking at his brother and winking.

 

Sam just half smiled and got comfortable, trying not to fall asleep. Not that he could have, with Dean playing rock music and singing along.

 

It wasn't long before they found themselves in Cathedral City. First stop: Mrs. Zhu's house.

 

“No, no, no, wait. What if we go get some pie and _then_ we go to Mrs. Zhu's?”

 

“Dean.”

 

“Fine,” Dean scowled, “let's go.”

 

Her house was small, box like and painted an awful shade of orange. They parked and walked to the porch. Sam knocked on the door.

 

Once.

 

Nothing.

 

Twice.

 

Also, nothing.

 

And so, they broke in.

 

The younger Winchester picked the lock and stepped carefully into the wooden floor, followed close by his older brother. Dean pointed at Sam, and then to his left. Sam understood and went to check his side of the house. Dean went to the right, gun held tight and ready to shoot.

 

The brothers almost bumped into each other. Nothing on the first floor.

 

Upstairs was pretty much the same, except for the bloody trail in the master bedroom leading to a stair outside the window. They followed the trail all the way to the roof and were surprised by what they found.

 

Mrs. Zhu was lying dead on the centre of the roof, wearing only her underwear. There were odd symbols carved on her arms and legs, still fresh, and a blood circle surrounded her. If you looked carefully you'd see lines and figures drawn with blood that united the body and the circle.

 

“Sam-” Dean didn't finish the sentence, but pointed at the woman's eyes.

 

They were burnt out.

 

They took pictures and silently drove off to find a motel.

 

“So, these symbols scream demon, but the burnt eyes say angel. Ring a bell?” asked Sam, looking at the printed pictures and different web pages on his laptop.

 

“Beelzebub's children?” asked Dean, quizzically.

 

Sam didn't bother responding, he just looked at his brother with eyes that said ‘told you’, and then went back to his research.

 

“I knew it was a good idea to come here,” said Dean, suddenly. Sam froze for a second and rolled his eyes.

 

“Hey, look at this,” Dean stood from the chair he was sitting on and approached Sam. “It's not their first kill.”

 

Dean was holding yesterday's paper. The local news section showed a picture of a crime scene exactly like the one they had witnessed, only without the corpse. According to the police there was nothing to worry about, it was probably ‘just a satanic gang’, and people had to be careful. Lock their doors and windows, etcetera, etcetera…

 

“Think we should visit the crime scene?” inquired Sam.

 

“And the morgue, I’d say,” Dean kept reading aloud. “ _Our detectives could find a witness.”_ Sam looked up at that. “ _The 17 year-old high school student, Kimberly Johnson, spoke with us. She explained what she saw: “There was a tall man, dressed in a brown coat; I couldn’t see him well, it was very dark. But I swear, there was a little kid with him, and they were both covered in blood.” Kimberly lives in the same building as Joshua Loughton, victim of this tragic fate, in Dina Shore St., number 528.”_

“Wow. If I didn’t know him, I’d say she was describing Cas and Thomas.”

 

“Hm, yeah,” Dean sighed and threw himself on his bed, leaving the paper on the nightstand. “We should visit this Kimberly chick, as well.”

 

“Right. ‘Night, Dean.” Sam stood and stretched, closing his laptop and finishing his research for the night.

 

“’Night, Sam.” Dean flung his arm over his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

 

_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_

 

“Agent Dawson. This is my partner, Agent Rathbone.” Sam held his FBI badge, and then pointed at Dean, who was analyzing the exterior of the building.

 

The police man at the entrance of the building nodded and let them in. The brothers climbed the stairs to the third floor, where they were met by an Inspector. After presenting themselves they were allowed to enter the apartment.

 

Dean stayed behind to ask the Inspector a few questions, while Sam walked through the place, searching for clues only they would find.

 

“So, you found the boy on the roof?” Sam heard his brother ask.

 

“Indeed. Poor kid was dragged up the fire escape stairs to the top of the building.” The man said, pointing to the window on the far end of the living room. The staircase could be half seen on the outside. Sam walked toward the window, scrutinizing very carefully every inch of floor and furniture. A few drops of blood could be seen on the wooden floor near the window sill. They were circled with yellow tape and labeled as evidence. Sam pulled out some plastic gloves from his inside coat pocket and opened the window carefully. He stepped over the window sill and went up the stairs to the roof.

 

The crime scene was very much like the one they saw the day before, but one thing was different. The circle and a few symbols were still painted, and a thin red line was drawn across the circle and lead to the front side of the building’s roof. Right in front of him, on the building opposite, was written in neat red letters “YOU CAN’T STOP US”. Sam took a picture and heard voices below him. He spared a glance to the bottom of the building and saw two men in suits talking to the cop at the front door. One of them looked up at him, as if he could sense Sam, and smiled broadly, showing his teeth, just as his eyes turned black. Sam’s eyes widened as the other demon sliced the cop’s throat and they entered the building.

 

Without a second thought, Sam flew down the stairs. “Dean!” he shouted as he was about to enter the apartment. His older brother looked at him and the Inspector blinked, his eyes turning the color of coal. “Look out!” Sam pointed to the demon behind Dean and he barely turned around before he was thrown across the place, falling on the living room’s glass table. It shattered under his weight, falling in pieces to the ground.

 

Dean was knocked out temporarily, so Sam was on his own. Against three demons. He pulled out his knife and lurched himself towards the first, the fake Inspector, as the other two reached the door. Sam collided with the demon and pushed him to the door, blocking the way for the others. The knife found its destination and demon screeched and sparked yellowish light. It fell to the ground, and as it did, the next one tackled Sam. They rolled around on the floor, Sam was on top of the demon and was about to kill him, but the last demon took hold of his arms and with supernatural force pulled him back, allowing his partner to punch him in the face several times, before dropping him on his back. The demon that had held him back let his foot fall on the hunter’s stomach, enjoying the gasps and cough he provoked, while the other stepped on his wrist, taking the knife from his grasp.

 

Dean felt a pang of pain on the back of his head and his back. A commotion could be heard outside the apartment. “Sammy?”

 

He stood on his feet, trying to walk as stable as he could without falling. He reached the door and as he walked out he could see his little brother being abused by two demons. One held him in place on the floor, a foot on his abdomen, the other on his left hand, keeping him pinned to the carpet. The other crouched on his other side, stepping over his right wrist and threatening him with his own knife.

 

“Do you know how much of a trouble we’ve had to endure to make sure you’d come here, hm?” The demon with the knife was saying as Dean appeared on the door.

 

“No, but it sure as Hell will be nothing compared to the trouble you’re in right now.”

 

The demons turned their heads just as Dean ran against the one holding the knife, trying to pry it from its hands. The knife flew across the hall and both Dean and the demon crawled and pushed each other to get it first, they fumbled a bit, but then a ‘pop’ and a cry of pain caught Dean’s attention and instinctively looked for his brother. The demon had him facing the floor, and his left arm was twisted behind his back, obviously –and painfully- out of place.

 

The demon next to Dean threw a punch to his jaw and took advantage of the moment; he crawled a bit more and reached the knife. But a knife has never stopped Dean Winchester. As he was about to throw himself at the demon to try and kill it another grunt was heard and then a gasp, and then a throaty laugh.

 

“That’s right, Dean man. You make another move and you say bye-bye to your baby brother.” Sam was now on his side, his middle was restrained with the demon’s legs and its arms were ready to snap his neck the moment Dean moved again.

 

Dean clenched his jaw and slowly lifted his arms level to his head, glaring daggers at the filth threatening his brother’s life. Sam was fighting for air; his left arm was useless, but he still tried to get rid of the demon’s choking arm on his neck with his right hand. He tried turning them around by moving his large legs, but his attempts were futile. “ _Dean,_ ” he choked out.

 

“Alright, stop it. I’m not fighting you anymore. What do you want?”

 

“Your friend has something that belongs to us; well, not us, our chief. He wants it back.” The demon behind Dean said. “But your angel buddy has this nasty habit of dropping off the radar; no-one knows where he is. So, once we have you, his dear human _friends,_ ” and at that the demon spat at the floor, “he’ll have no choice but to come rescue you. Like the damn damsels in distress that you are.”

 

Then he hit Dean on the back of the head with a vase standing nearby and he fell face-first on the floor. The demon choking/holding Sam waited until he had fallen unconscious by lack of air and then let him go. Both demons got the brothers in a van and drove them to an abandoned warehouse.

 

_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_

 

“What is it with you, the Winchesters, that you always end up in such unfortunate situations?” A British accent asked.

 

Sam and Dean slowly opened their eyes, feeling a headache start to form. Sam squinted his eyes at the bright light falling over them and used his hand to protect his retinas. Dean looked around carefully, trying to figure out where they were. It was a medium size room; the brothers were lying on two separate cots lightened by a single lamp above their heads. Finally, his gaze fell upon the towering silhouette in front of them.

 

“Crowley?” Dean couldn’t believe his eyes.

 

“In the flesh.”

 

“You’re working with Beelzebub,” stated Sam.

 

Crowley barked out a laugh and then looked at them with venom-filled eyes. “I would _never_ work for a piece of trash like that. I value –in a sense- the human life, they are my business, after all.”

 

“So, what are we doing here? Those demons said they would take us to their chief, and here we are,” Dean intervened.

 

“Don’t you remember, Squirrel?” Crowley smirked mischievously, “Let’s refresh your memory, shall we?”

 

Right then, two dark figures appeared at the end of the room; one noticeably taller than the other. They approached the three men and stood straight just were the light illuminated them enough to make them recognizable.

 

A tan trenchcoat.

 

A red lollipop.

 

“ _Cas?_ ”

  


**_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.
> 
> I 'll update soon... Hopefully.
> 
> -CLR.


End file.
